In 2002, Timor-Leste became the first new independent state of the 21st century. This was preceded by 25 years of conflict that claimed 200,000 lives, destroyed infrastructure, and pushed most into extreme poverty.
Timor-Leste is mostly reliant on oil for income, however this is a rapidly depleting resource. Coffee farming on the other hand is sustainable, and is their most important and profitable crop having become the nation’s second largest export. Developing coffee will help make the future of Timor-Leste more sustainable and can also be done in an environmentally sound manner.
The Ituze Women’s Cooperative, in Rwanda, is a shining example of what can be accomplished when women come together to support each other. Founded in 2008 by 18 women who had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, the cooperative began farming pineapples and coffee to raise income. Slowly but surely their ingenuity and hard work have paid off to produce a world class coffee. It's a story that's worth reading more about, and why we selected them as one of our flag ship coffee producers.
Buying our Rwandan coffee directly helps Rwandan farmers purchase micro-lots from, RWACOF (Sucafina in Rwanda) and Isimbi “Sucafina Original”. This in turn contributes to a larger project that’s helping farmers increase yields through stumping and renovation. Part of the Farmgate Initiative, this pilot program will combine soil analysis, agronomic advice and support on farms to help farmers attain higher yields whilst maintaining the environment.
When we started Change Coffee Roasters, we agreed that we would do things differently. The first thing we wanted to do was to have fully home compostable packaging. After much research, we've managed to do this. With the small exception of the plastic valve that ensures that gas from the freshly roasted coffee can escape, and zipper that ensures that the coffee is delivered at its best, our coffee bags can be composted by our customers in their home composting bin. Not only that, all our wholesale coffee is sold in re-usable plastic containers, minimising waste.
Once we've hit 100kg of coffee sold, we're also going to be able to begin out tree planting initiative that will help offset the carbon emissions from our business.
These are just a couple of ideas amongst many that we've thought of to help make our enterprise as sustainable as possible.